Ice-tractor



, D. '-H.- SCOTT.

ICE TRACTOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 28,1911.

Patented June 15, 1920.

FIG. 1

IAVEN TOR; DUDLEY H 5001'? 1 a I. z 3rd. 5 3 A 7 WITNESF 9 rzcfei? ATTORNE YS.

PATENT DUDLEY H. scoTT, or CLEVELAND, OI-I10.

OFFICE.

icn-TnncTon.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DUDLEY H. SooTT,

citizen of the United States, residingf at Cleveland, in the county ofCuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Ice-Tractors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an ice tractor designed especially for use inice skating rinks to draw an ice planing machine in a circuitous path athigh working speed without skidding over the ice surface and withoutmarring the planed ice surface. To un derstand the conditions which mustbe met I wish to state briefly that the ice planer which I employ haslong cutting blade capable of planing a swath forty-two or more incheswide to a depth of one-sixteenth of an inch or more, and considerablepower and traction is required to pull this planer in a circuit andtocut the ice at a speed of ten miles an hour. The use of an internalcombustion engine for power purposes is objectionable on account of theoffensive exhaust fumes which would be discharged into the closedbuilding, and the heavy power demands make the use of electric storagebatteries impracticable. Therefore, I have designed a tractor embodyinga powerful electric motor which is adapted to receive its current fromservice lines and through a trailing electrical conductor substantiallyas shown and described in my application for Letters Patent filed March24;, 1917, Ser. No. 157,289, and to assure efficient traction withoutinjury to the ice surface, I employ pneumatic tires adapted to give aflat bearing tractor surface and which tires have studded treadsespecially designed to enter and grip the ice for the best driving.andsteering effects without noticeably injuringthe ice surface. Thedriving and steering wheels are also particularly related andconstructed to afford stability to the tractor in turning and to avoidtravel of the studded treads over the planed ice surfaces, all ashereinafter more particularly described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side-elevation of thetractor, while Fig. 2 isa plan View, and Fig. 3 is a rear elevationthereof. Fig. 4: is an enlarged view'of a sectionof one side of thedriving wheel tire, and Fig. 5 is a similar view of the Specification ofLetters Patent. Patented June 15 1920, Application filed March 28, 1917.Serial No. 157,875. I

tively wide spread of the wheels at the front, and a narrow wheel gageat the rear, to give a short turning radius, and comprises a chassisframe2 suitably mounted on front and rear axles of different lengths,the rear axle being shortened to bring at the drive wheel tire 3directly in front of the planer at the right hand side .of the tractor.The front or steering wheels6 of the tractor have a Wider base, that is,are farther apart than the rear drive wheels, and the tread or tireofthe steering wheel 6 at the right-hand side of the tractor is withoutmetal studs to avoid marring that portion of the ice surface overwhichit rides. In this way the swath which has been planed during thepreceding trip of the tractor and planer in its circuit around the rinkis not cutup by the tractor wheels, it being understood that the tractorand planer travel in a circuit spirally over the ice surface to producean overlapping cut with the right hand steering wheel nearly alwaysriding on the planed ice surface. The two rear wheels are onlyabout-one-half as far apart as the two front wheels, which considerablynarrows the gage of track covered by the driving wheels, and therelative wider wheel spread at the front furnishes the needed stabilityto prevent the machine from turning over in naking the turns. On theother hand the right hand wheel 6 which rides on the smooth planed icehas a plain smooth tread, which unavoidably throws the major work ofsteering the tractor on the left hand wheel 6, and the work which thissingle wheel 6 has to do. is further augmented by the one-sided pullbrought to the plane of the wheel to better resist a side skiddingmovement at the front endof the tractor and to aid in turning thetractor on'i the'ice, see Fig.0. The rear Wheel tires sidesextending;transversely to the direction of movement of the tractor tobetter drive the tractor forward. If desired, the fiat sides of thestuds may be arranged both lengthwise and transversely on the same tirefor effective driving and" steering purposes, and the mechanism forsteerlng may be of the conventional type controlled by a steering shaft9 having a hand wheel 10'1'0- cated abovethe operators seat 11. p v Thetractor is preferably driven by a powerful electric motor 12 mountedupon frame 2 between vthe rear drive wheels where o the weight .is bestdistributed for traction effects, and power is communicated to thedifferential driving gear of axle 14 of the rear wheels a countershaft15 having a sprocket wheel 16 in chain driving coirv L cratethiscontroller. As shown, a rotatable electrical connector.

nectionowith a sprocket gear on the motor shaft. A suitable switch orspeed controller 17 for the motoris also provided, and any suitablemechanism maybe used to opshaft .l8is geared to the-controller shaft andprovided with a crank handle 19 at its rear end within convenient reachof the driver occupying seat 11. I

Thedepth towhich the V-shaped studs may be caused to enter the ice maybe regulated by the Weight of the tractor and any load carriedithereby,and to this end I find it advantageous to employ additionalweightsconsisting of solid cast-iron cylinders 20,161110Yitbl3 hung uponbrackets 21 projecting downward from frame 2, andit is desirable toplace these weights at the front as well as at the rear ofthe tractor toproperly steer the tractor,vwhich it must be rememberechrides on smoothice.

The "electrical conductor for the electric motor is detachably connectedwith. the tractorin a particular way to permit the conductor to trailwithin a protecting conduit behind and at one side ofthe tractor. Thus,a rigid forked member 22- is projected at one side offrame 2 to placethe conductor clear and freeof the rear wheel, and a tubular couplingmember 23" telescopes over the branches of said supporting member 22 andis detachably held thereon by pins 24 or other suitable fastening means.The flexible vconduit 25 is attached to coupling member and theconductiir wires 26 pass throu h 5 b A K.

this-conduit to one section27 of a separable The other section 28 ofthisconneetor is electrically connected to the motor and its switch orcontrollerl7.

H fWhat claim is: V i

'1. in: ice tractor having pivoted steering wheels at its front, onlyoneof said wheels 2 a u f j 1 1,343,687,

being provided with a metal-studded tread in combinationwith a pair ofstudded drive wheels at the rear of said tractor.

- QFAn ice tractor having one steering -wheel provided with a tread t idv wheels offset laterally to said steering wheels.

3. an tractor'having rear drive wheels and a front steering wheel allprovided with traction projections to enter the ice, and a member ofheavy weight at both the rear and front ends of said tractor to presssaid projections into the .ice' to {facilitate both driving and steeringof the tractor and a front stabilizing and steering wheel laterallybeyond the rear drive wheels. 4. An ice tractor having main frame and aset of drive wheels at the rear thereof provided with metalstudded-tires, an electric motor mounted upon said frame between saidwheels, a set of'steering wheels at the front of said frame, and one ofsaid steering wheels having a tread formed to ride over the ice withoutmarking the surface and located to travel laterally beyond the line oftravel of the drive wheel at the rear thereof and the other of saidsteering wheels having metal studdedtreadto engage the ice and to holdthe tractor to agiven course.

5. i-ini'ce tractor having a main frame and driving wheels thereonprovided with sharp studs, and a set of front steering wheels setoutwardly at each side beyond the line of traveler" the rear wheels andonly one of 'Sfllfl front wheels having metal studs to enhaving a widerwheel base than said rear.

wheels to permit their travel outside of the line of travel of the rearwheels, one'of the saidfront wheels having a smooth tread and the othera metal-studded tread'to engage theice.

7. An ice tractorhaving steering and driving wheels provided withpneumatic'tires having jsharp flat metal studs with straight edgesextending transversely and longitudr nally.

' S.An ice tractor having rear wheels'provided with resilient tireshaving sharp flatfaced studs placed transversely of the wheel tread, andfront steering wheels provided with resilient tires" l1avin'g sharpflat-faced studs placed longitudinally of the wheel f f SignedClevelanchgin the county of 'Cuyahoga andState of Ohiiilthis 23rd dayofMarch, 1917. I p v V i niinLEY I-I. SCOTT.

